pwndck

Check the the HaveIBeenPwned password database to see if a particular password has been compromised.

It uses the haveibeenpwned API for the check:

• Use does not require an API key. Anyone can run it.
• It is more secure than the web page tool. your password is not exposed beyond your local machine.
• This is a lightweight install. There are no large downloads.

It returns the number of times the password occurs in the database.

Install

Install from PyPI

For Debian forky or newer, use

sudo apt install pwndck

For other Debian derivatives, download the deb file and install with:

sudo dpkg -i pwndck_*_all.deb
sudo apt -f install

Usage

$ pwndck -h
usage: pwndck [-q] [ [<password>...] | -i <INPUT> | -e | --version | -h ]

Report # of password hits in HaveIBeenPwned

positional arguments:
  passwords            The password(s) to check

options:
  -q, --quiet          Suppress output
  -i, --input INPUT    File containing passwords, one per line
                       ('-' for stdin)
  -e, --estimatedb     Estimate the current size of the HaveIBeenPwned
                       password database
  --version            show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help           show this help message and exit

Evaluate one or more passwords against the HaveIBeenPwned
password database, and return the number of accounts for which
they have been reported as compromised.
 
The number of entries found in the database is returned. if
multiple passwords are being checked, the password name is also
returned.
 
If the password is not specified on the command line, the user
will be prompted.
 
The command returns with an error code if the password is found
in the database.
 
See https://haveibeenpwned.com/API/v3#PwnedPasswords

Module

$ python3
Python 3.13.11 (main, Dec  8 2025, 11:43:54) [GCC 15.2.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import pwndck
>>> help(pwndck.processpw)
Help on function process_pw in module pwndck.processpw:

process_pw(pw: str) -> int
    Returns the number of entries for a password in the Have I Been Pwned
    database.

    Parameters:
        pw (str): The password to check.

    Returns:
        int: The number of entries in the database.

    Raises:
        PwndException: For web query errors.

>>> pwndck.process_pw("password")
52256179
>>>